Math Problems

6+2-1+6-7+6 +3= ? I remember, and I bet my readers do too, when our grade school teacher challenged us to listen,  do the computations in our heads and come up with the right answer. I really liked these because I had to pay really close attention and think fast- it was an adrenaline rush!  If my attention lapsed for even a milli-second I usually couldn’t catch up.  Lately I’m being challenged to add, subtract,  multiply and divide all the physical, emotional, and social data in my life. I can add a class, if I subtract another class. I add glasses, hearing aids and CPAP to better my physical health, and then I have to subtract the amount of time, attention, money and emotional distress I’ve spent to acquire and use these physical aids. My recent health issues have divided my well-being with anxiety. Writing multiplies the joys in my life. As I age and time is limited, I realize that these computations are needed fast and furious and I better get the right answer now! Since I’m in my 70’s, I can’t afford to have my report card read “Does not pay attention in class” or in life. By the way the correct answer is 15.

27+x=52***27-27+x=52-27***x= 52-27***x=25.  And then in high school there was Algebra and equations. All of those x’s and y’s and equal signs and solutions. Oh my! An equation is like a balanced scale. Whatever operation you do to one side, you must do to the other side.I could make equations balance in Algebra, but in life I was rarely balanced . I had no clue what “x” was or even how to go about figuring it out. Over 50 years later it’s still difficult to keep balance in my life. If I get into something I’m likely to go overboard. I really need 60 balls of yarn and thread if I’m into crochet. I love to make earrings, but do I really need over a hundred pairs? I’ve been both “All Work and no Play” or “All Play and no Work” and neither balanced my life equation. There are things I must do to take care of myself, and so many things I want to do for fun. I am a passionate person and moderation is not in my DNA, but I’ve had to learn to add moderation to solve my Algebra problems. I’ll never get to solving more complicated quadratic equations in my real life , but I remember I liked them and they challenged me.  I was so satisfied when I got the right answer. It was one thing to show my work on paper or on chalkboard, but I really can’t show my work for 73 years.

Geometry was my favorite subject in high school math. Triangles, squares, circles,  angles, and areas.  Geometry is the playground of math, it gives us the famous axiom “You can’t fit a square peg in a round hole.” The phrase is a metaphor for trying to force a person, object, or idea into a place where it clearly does not belong. So why have I often tried to fit myself with people or situations that are absolutely not compatible with who I am. Children try to make the block fit, but soon learn it won’t work. Some adults, like me, never stop trying to use force to make it happen. Geometry is a practical math.  We have beach balls, basketballs, volleyballs, softballs, baseballs, tennis balls and so on. Each made for a specific game in a specific size . If Amazon lists a basketball with a diameter of 20 inches, that ain’t a basketball! We need to know square feet if we are laying 12 inch tiles don’t we?  “Measure twice, cut once.”, means do careful preparations if you are about to undertake an action the may be irreversible.  My impulsivity is legendary. I think it’s pretty obvious that I’ve forgotten these important principles of Geometry.  I try to deny the area of my body! Size 14 people take up more area than size 6 people, therefore, the clothes they wear must cover their corresponding areas. Hence, I have fat pants and skinny pants.

The Scarecrow in the “Wizard of Oz” believed that if he only had a brain all would be well. After being “gifted” with a brain, he blurted out this Geometric theorem: “The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side” .There is only one problem; this is not true, it is mathematically false.  Scarecrow needs to ask for more brains.